Beech Tree News Network

Summertime and the living is easy.  While it’s a song lyric, I figured it a good open for this week’s subject: vacation songs.  Today’s list comes from AXS’ Top Ten Revealed.

We kick off with a song every fan of the classic movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation knows well: “Holliday Road” by Lindsay Buckingham.  At the time of its release, Buckingham was on hiatus from Fleetwood Mac.  Buckingham didn’t want to include the song in the movie, thinking it was not for him.  The director kept pushing for him to allow the song’s inclusion.  The rest is history. 

Coming in at #9 is a classic vacation song: the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ U.S.A”.  Brian lifted the tune for the track from Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen”.  Carnie Wilson, ½ of Wilson Phillips and daughter of Beach Boy Brian Wilson, says “it’s funny.  Everybody thought my dad, or the Beach Boys wrote it.  They didn’t.  But it was the perfect cover song for them”.  It’s a fun song.  The song even lists great vacation spots and surfing spots in the lyrics.  “Surfin’ USA” mentions 15 surfing spots, most being in California of course.  

#8 is “Holliday” from Madonna’s 1983 self-titled debut album.  This was back when Madonna was good.  The song reportedly started out being a ballad.  When Madonna got her hands on it, it became the dance track we know and love.

Next at #7 is “Come Fly with Me” from ole Blue Eyes himself, the late, great Frank Sinatra.  The song sets the tone for his 1957 album that was all about travelling to far-off places. This made him the forefather of the concept album.  A concept album is a collection of songs written by a musician or group that is based around a central theme or concept.

Our #6 song is on a totally different end of the musical spectrum: “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper.  This song is about the best kind of vacation: summer vacation from school.  AXS ranks the next song at #5 but I’d rank it higher: “Margaritaville” by the late, great Jimmy Buffet.  It’s way more than just a song.  It’s a song that built an empire.  There would be no Margaritaville Inn franchise without this song.  Jimmy invested in retirement homes, liquors and restaurants.  It’s the ultimate song for kicking back and relaxing.  

#4 is “Two Tickets To Paradise” by the late Eddie Money.  Money wrote the song in one sitting about a trip he was planning with his girlfriend.  We return to The Beach Boys for our #3 entry.  In third position is their 1988 hit “Kokomo”.  Did you know there is a place called Kokomo?   There are three: Kokomo is a private island in Fiji.  Kokomo, Hawaii is a community on the island of Maui.  It’s located just north of Makawao, Hawaii.  The third is the city of Kokomo in Indiana.  None of which were the actual focus of the song.  “Kokomo” was a fictional place.  Likely the biggest moment for the song was that it was played in the movie “Cocktail”.  Here’s a final fact about the song.  It was written by three heavy hitters in the music business: Beach Boy Mike Love, John Phillips from The Mamas and the Papas, and Scott McKenzie, who had a huge hit with “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in your Hair”), and Terry Melcher.

Coming in at #2 is “Sailing” by Yacht Rock king Christopher Cross.  The song has taken the mantle as one of the top yacht rock songs of all time.  Here’s how big the song was: Cross became the only artist to sweep Grammy categories.  He won album of the year, record of the year. Single of the year and arrangement of the year for “Sailing” in 1981. Cross laid sole claim to that achievement until 18-year-old Billie Eilish accomplished the feat in 2020.  

The #1 vacation song is “Vacation” by the Go-Go’s.  This song is about the female lead trying to forget about an ex.  “Vacation” was the first single and title track off the Go-Go’s 1982 album.  It was their second top-ten hit, peaking at #8 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA).  (AXS Top Ten Revealed).  I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s look at vacation songs.  Below are links to my podcast, Blendertainment.

https://open.spotify.com/show/61yTPt9wXdz37DZTbPUs16?si=lw4gR-7xQ22E-zhyGDyHyg

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blendertainment/id1541097172